Washington DC/IBNS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday said there is absolutely no space for religious discrimination during a joint media address with President Joe Biden at The White House.

Asked about the rights of religious minorities by a US reporter, PM Modi said: "Regardless of caste, creed, religion, gender, there's absolutely no space for discrimination."

"There is no democracy in the absence of human rights," he added.

India and the US have "overwhelming respect" for each other as "we are democracies and it is in US and India's DNAs to expand democratic institutions".

"We have proved democracy can deliver. If there are no human values, no human rights, no humanity, it's not a democracy. When we live in a democracy, there's no place for discrimination. In India, there is no discrimination on the basis of caste, age, religion," PM Modi told the US media.

PM Modi was accorded a grand welcome at The White House. President Joe Biden in his address said "India and the US are two great nations, two great friends."

After bilateral talks, the Prime Minister will address a joint sitting of the two houses of the US Congress for a second time, which will be followed by dinner at the White House. This second historic joint address is a first for an Indian leader and a rarity for the rest of the world as well.